Boy In Intensive Care After Touching 25,000 Volt Overhead Line In Rugby

25 June 2014, 14:23

A 16-year-old boy's in intensive care after he touched an overhead wire on a railway line in Rugby.

The teenager was with two friends at a depot in Hunters Lane, near Rugby railway station when the accident happened.

It is understood he was on top of a stationary freight train container carriage when he may have made contact with the cable with his upper body as he went to turn around, according to the initial emergency call to West Midlands Ambulance Service.

The boy was taken to University Hospital in Coventry and has since been transferred to the Queen Elizabeth Hospital in Birmingham where he remains in intensive care in a stable condition.

British Transport Police said it appeared to have been a tragic accident.

A spokesman for the force said: "The boy, who is from the Rugby area, was with two friends who were outside the yard when the incident took place. Both were uninjured.

"Officers will be speaking to them in due course to ascertain further details about exactly what happened.

"The injured boy's family is aware of the incident and officers are providing them with support at this difficult time.

"At this stage we don't believe there are any suspicious circumstances and the incident appears to have been the result of a tragic accident.''

A WMAS spokesman said it received an emergency call reporting the injured boy had been "playing with friends when he came into contact with an overhead cable''.

"He had serious burns to his neck and slighter burns to his shoulders and feet,'' he added.

The police and Network Rail, which runs the depot, urged people to heed safety advice and only enter areas of the railway clearly marked for public use.

A spokesman said it was assisting police with their investigation, adding: "Accessing the railway without permission is extremely dangerous with many hazards which pose a serious risk to life - including overhead power lines which carry 25,000 volts of electricity.''